Ball Balancer Structure for Washing Machine Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional washing machines with ball balancers face issues of reduced lifespan due to deformation under centrifugal force, assembly challenges, and generation of fusion scraps that cause noise and vibration, leading to misalignment and reduced durability.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates annular-shaped balancers with supports and fusion ridges/grooves to enhance strength, guide proper assembly, and collect fusion scraps, preventing them from entering the internal space where balls move, thus maintaining balance and reducing noise and vibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If ball balancers are used with upper and lower plates fused together, then the balancer structure is simplified, but fusion scraps are generated that cause noise and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful fusion scraps are extracted and isolated from the ball movement space by creating a dedicated collection pocket. The pocket is formed by inwardly extending ridges from the housing walls, which trap fusion scraps during the fusion process and prevent them from interfering with ball motion, thereby eliminating the noise and vibration problem while maintaining the simplified fused structure.
2Productivity
If ball balancers are spun at high speed, then dehydration efficiency is improved, but the balancer walls deform due to centrifugal force
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly thickening the entire balancer structure, reinforcing ribs are strategically placed at specific locations where stress concentration occurs during high-speed rotation. These localized reinforcements provide the necessary structural strength to prevent wall deformation under centrifugal force while maintaining overall structural efficiency and not compromising dehydration performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If ball balancers are installed without guidance features, then manufacturing is simpler, but assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Installation guide protrusions are pre-formed as integral parts of the balancer housing during the same fusion molding process that creates the balancer itself. These guide features protrude from the housing and fit into corresponding recesses in the spin tub, providing automatic alignment and positioning during assembly. This preliminary incorporation of guidance features eliminates the need for separate machining or attachment operations, thus reducing assembly time while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
4Productivity
If fusion scraps fall inward during balancer fusion, then manufacturing is faster, but ball motion is prevented causing vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The fusion scraps, which are inherently harmful to ball motion, are converted into a useful filling material for the pocket structure. The inwardly extending ridges create a pocket that naturally captures and contains the fusion scraps generated during the fusion molding process. By designing the structure to embrace and contain the scraps rather than trying to eliminate them, the harmful byproduct is transformed into a space-filling element that does not interfere with ball motion, thereby maintaining manufacturing efficiency while ensuring reliable ball operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution increases the durability and lifespan of balancers by preventing deformation and noise, allowing for rapid and precise installation, and maintaining smooth operation of the washing machine by minimizing vibration and noise.
Implementation Method 1
The first and second housings are fused together to form a closed internal space
Implementation Method 2
the ball balancers are continuously supplied with centrifugal force that is generated when the steel balls make a circular motion, and thus are deformed at walls thereof
Implementation Method 3
the steel balls compensate for this imbalance, and thus the spin tub can maintain the dynamic balance
Data Source
AI summary
A drum type washing machine including a housing, a spin tub, and a ball balancer coupled to the spin tub, the ball balancer including a first plastic member and a second plastic member joined to each other to form an annular-shaped race, the first plastic member including a first side wall, a second side wall and a connecting wall to form a three-sided annular-shaped structure having an open side, and the second plastic member adapted to cover the open side, the three-sided annular-shaped structure having a U-shaped cross-section with a first rounded inside corner formed between the first side wall and the connecting wall and a second rounded inside corner formed between the second side wall and the connecting wall. A radius of curvature of each of the first and second rounded inside corners is greater than a radius of curvature of opposite diagonal inside corners of the annular-shaped race.